27 February 2014

Drink and
flavour research collective Drink Factory will release an exclusive limited
edition magazine in collaboration with some of London’s most creative
photographers. The pioneering team,
headed by Tony Conigliaro of 69 Colebrooke Row, investigate the world of Gothic
in all its forms through a visual bartending inspiration catalogue.

Gothic is
the first of a series of publications from Drink Factory that document the work
of the renowned laboratory in Islington, North London. The magazine is a collection of ideas, images
and concepts to inspire the bartending community and encourage an appreciation
of the wider creative world that can be drawn on to create drinks. Researching gothic film, literature, fashion
and the movement’s darker sexual roots, the magazine showcases these findings
in the form of bespoke drinks and cocktail serves in unique environments.

24 February 2014

The
most rare and expensive cocktail shaking machines in the world have re-surfaced
in Australia. Up until now, a dusty 200-year-old line drawing found in an old
London facsimile was all that remained of what were once called Imperial Shaker
Machines. That has recently changed with the vision from the multi-
award-winning entrepreneur Jason Crawley. A faithful reproduction of the
original machine, “Crawley’s Imperial Shaker” is a stunning hand crank design
representing the finest in elegant Victorian antiquity and craftsmanship, and
is a high-end, luxury item for those who choose the fine and rare things in
life. With its antique look and 21st-century
manufacturing, the Imperial Shaker represents a radical new industry aesthetic
and an innovative new genre-breaking movement in design. The first 12 available
Imperial Shakers are already being pre-sold around the world to serious
collectors and devoted cocktail enthusiasts.

“I have been working on the project for
over five years, and it has been a longtime aspiration to finally get the
Shaker ready to view and sell,” said Jason Crawley, founder and creator of
Crawley’s Imperial Shaker. “As having made my career in the drinks industry,
being born in a steel city of Sheffield and to honor my grandfathers steel
working life, this has been a dream come true.”

The Imperial Shaker itself is a
captivating floor-mounted design standing at six feet tall in powder-coated
cast iron, with solid brass fittings and adorned with four bespoke
silver-plated ‘on copper’ cocktail shakers. The brand identity of a crowned
pineapple is subtly cast into each shaker; the pineapple used to be a cultural
signifier of affluence and hospitality, and to this day, the image of a
pineapple still hangs over many a tavern, particularly in Boston.

The Imperial Shaker retails for
$16,500AUD and can be ordered directly through Crawley.